heiders33 wrote:My reversal surgery is done! My surgical site is very sore, but otherwise no pain. I had pain all over my abdomen when I woke up, but they gave me pain meds. My surgery lasted less than 90 minutes.

I’m very comfortable in my hospital bed. I’m right next to the bathroom which is good, and my roommate is quiet. I’m at Lenox Hill Hospital and the nurses here are all so great!

It’s SO weird to reach to my side and not feel a bag there.

Now comes the hard part - getting my bowels to wake up over the next couple days.

heiders33 wrote:My reversal surgery is done! My surgical site is very sore, but otherwise no pain. I had pain all over my abdomen when I woke up, but they gave me pain meds. My surgery lasted less than 90 minutes.

I’m very comfortable in my hospital bed. I’m right next to the bathroom which is good, and my roommate is quiet. I’m at Lenox Hill Hospital and the nurses here are all so great!

It’s SO weird to reach to my side and not feel a bag there.

Now comes the hard part - getting my bowels to wake up over the next couple days.

They will wake up, so in the meantime, enjoy the time off (those were actually a bit of blissful downtime!) Also get out there and walk if you can- it will help move things along.

O Stoma Mia wrote:... There is a very important point that I think should be emphasized for all patients undergoing CRC surgery: it is the possibility of tearing of surgical site due to any unusual, vigorous activity that puts stress on the new incision. This condition is called an "incisional hernia" when it occurs at the site of the main LAR or APR incisions, and it is called a "parastomal hernia" when it occurs near the ileostoma incision site. These two conditions are to be avoided at all cost because they can cause considerable problems later on and can reduce the subsequent quality of life.

The good news is that incisional hernias and parastomal hernias can be avoided -- but only if the post-surgery patient takes extreme care not to allow unusual tension at the incision sites. This means, among other things:

Absolutely no lifting of any heavy objects in the post-surgery period. It is important after surgery not to lift too soon as you risk damaging your abdomen. Even if the suture line is healed completely the muscles below take many weeks or months to heal. It is advisable to lift nothing heavier than a jug of water for three months after surgery. This means you may need help to undertake general duties such as cleaning (vacuum cleaners are heavy to move about), washing (wet washing is heavy to lift), shopping (food is heavy to carry), even caring for children or others may involve activities that may put strain on the abdomen.

No lifting yourself up or pulling yourself up out of bed in the post surgery period. (Call the nurses if you need assistance in getting up out of bed.) Do not try to use the hand rail or overhead bar to raise yourself up, or you risk the possibility of tearing the surgical site.

No coughing or sneezing during the immediate post-surgical period. If this is unavoidable, then I think you should insure that you have some kind of abdominal support to hold the surgical incision site(s) firm. Devices like abdominal binders might be appropriate in this case, if approved by the doctor. Or you could use a small pillow pressed against the abdomen for support. If you develop uncontrollable coughing and sneezing, then you could damage the incision site, causing delayed healing and eventual incisional hernia.

This is just my own personal opinion, and the reason I am mentioning this here is that there seems to be a constant reminder that we have to "walk, walk, walk" just after surgery, but there is rarely any mention that in order to get up to walk you have to first get out of bed, and the maneuvers that you use to get yourself out of bed could easily cause problems with your new incision.

Yes I’ve walked around three times since surgery. Meanwhile, per usual, my roommate isn’t doing what she needs to do to help her pain by walking around, same as my last two roommates. So frustrating to me.

Glad to hear you are doing well.I remember the first thing I did was feel my stomach after surgery. I do have a small hernia, although, it was there before surgery. Just more obvious now after surgery. It really doesn't bother me. The surgeon doesn't was to repair unless necessary and that's fine with me, it is tiny. I do wear a belly binder when doing exercises that involve my abdomen. Glad you are able to walk and are doing it often.It really does help. I was happy that the hospital I had surgery had all private rooms for the patients, was helpful for recovery. But, you prob won't be there long.

Oh man, a private room would be a game changer for me. It’s a luxury here in NYC. I’ve had five hospital roommates and three of them have been awful: complaining and having complications and refusing to get up and move. Doesn’t inspire me much, except maybe greater motivation to leave soon! My very first roommate after the last surgery was the best. She was an older lady and had been through a similar surgery to mine. She was very encouraging.

Just spent night number two in the hospital and still no passing gas. I have plenty roiling around in there but so far it’s just come out through burping. Now that I’m no longer getting IV fluids I’m going to put some normal clothes on and walk around the hospital. I walked a lot yesterday, but each walk itself I think was too short. If I’m going to get back to “normal” I need to start feeling more normal in other ways.

The surgical team just came in and changed my gauze. The area is still tender so it hurt a little. It’ll be interesting to start changing it myself or have my sister change it. They said they can try to start me on some solids today. I thought I had to pass gas first but maybe that’s not the case. I’m so ready for some solid food!

O Stoma Mia wrote:... There is a very important point that I think should be emphasized for all patients undergoing CRC surgery: it is the possibility of tearing of surgical site due to any unusual, vigorous activity that puts stress on the new incision. This condition is called an "incisional hernia" when it occurs at the site of the main LAR or APR incisions, and it is called a "parastomal hernia" when it occurs near the ileostoma incision site. These two conditions are to be avoided at all cost because they can cause considerable problems later on and can reduce the subsequent quality of life.

How do you know if you got a peristomal ernia? My ileostomy is not protuding but the skin where the bag is hanging is protuding a bit, like a circle around the stoma, but not if I lie on my back. The fisiotherapist at the hospital said I could resume all normal activity but to do not lift over 3 kg and do sit ups for 8 weeks. The nurses said it was very important to sneeze to avoid pneumonia. The stomy nurse said that there are also risk factors like being overweight and not well trained and that it was unlikely that I would develop an ernia. At the pharmacy they scared me to death and sold me an ernia belt but I cannot breath with it and feel like is bloking the blood stream. I got open surgery twice so my incision is 30 cm through the belly botton. Also the stomy opening was the same for colo- and ileostomy.

Just got home from the hospital. I’ve had four BM’s today, all pretty small and liquidy (except the first one was more). I ate some solid food before I left the hospital. My stoma site is very tender and the rest of my abdomen feels tight from gas and maybe some swelling from the surgery. Everything seems to be normal. Now for a nap.

Welcome home. I bet it feels good. Do you have a special diet or any limitations? How long are you out from work? Pain?The thought of the reversal is pretty scary, I worry about urgency, frequency but your system is still just a little sleepy yet.S